Everyone should get checked for levels of vitamin D.The number of things that are affected is too long to even look up.But the need for adequate lighting is not one that vitamin D can replace.

A friend of mine went into depression while going through a divorce.It was so dramatic that he was fully aware of what was happening, but couldn't change it.His shop was inside a building and had no windows at all and very little light, just normal fluorescent spacing in cool white.He usually never saw the sun with his hours.I put two vho daylight fluorescents in his shop, and switched the existing ones to daylight.( 215 watts, around 15,000 lumens each. )Bright enough to trigger his autodimming glasses.

I also was able to get him to get more exercise.Scary when anyone actually takes advice, but in weeks he was doing okay.Still getting divorced, but cheery.

Another related need people have, is a view with some perspective, some distance.Nasa found that this need can be mostly satisfied with pictures of the right type.At least part of this need is physical.The negative effects of ignoring it are dramatic.The eyes need to change focus regularly.

I suggest a big screen tv with a flying or nature video can be most effective for this.And by big screen, I mean big enough to be immersed, to need to move your eyes to see the entire screen, around 6-10 feet minimum.Content that is dull on a small tv, can be fascinating and relaxing on the large farnsworths.

A daylight colour temperature light should help, as of course having the light bright enough.Watch out for cheaper lights having a lower Colour Index (CI). You should have a CI of at least 85. A CI of 92 or up is a nice to have.

Ikea in Europe has announced they're going to be carrying affordable (<$14) dimmable LED bulbs with a CI of 86 from Lemnis. Their colour temperature (2700K) is below that of daylight (5000K), much like traditional household tungsten lighting. With their CI, they'll be a much better light source than most household compact fluorescent bulbs. Hard to believe they'll be dimmable for that price.

Full Spectrum bulbs are a delight to work under, and we're assuming a colour temperature somewhere around 5000K. However, when using a bright one in one's face, like the SAD treatment lamps, it is only recommended for use in the morning, and recommended to not use throughout the day, and never before bed - will screw up your day/night cycle. Yet, strangely, I've never heard this caution about using full spectrum bulbs as general work or household lighting, even when sufficiently bright for safe work spaces.

Jar Jar Sith Lord.Odd. No bears in the dump. Oh well, lets go across the road & pick blueberries..... but don't harm the red dragon that frequents the area from time to time. He and I have an agreement.

gyre wrote:Another related need people have, is a view with some perspective, some distance.Nasa found that this need can be mostly satisfied with pictures of the right type.At least part of this need is physical.The negative effects of ignoring it are dramatic.The eyes need to change focus regularly.

I suggest a big screen tv with a flying or nature video can be most effective for this.And by big screen, I mean big enough to be immersed, to need to move your eyes to see the entire screen, around 6-10 feet minimum.Content that is dull on a small tv, can be fascinating and relaxing on the large farnsworths.

From before 9:30 through to past 4:00, I'm stuck in front of two rows of three 28" LCD screens from around one and a half to two arms length away. I have a 7th on the side that's a TV: a USB flash stick plugged into it cycles through nature images. When not working on the main computer, its six screens are one desktop and a screen saver cycles through my nature images. Big difference.Don't know if video would be too distracting while working.

Jar Jar Sith Lord.Odd. No bears in the dump. Oh well, lets go across the road & pick blueberries..... but don't harm the red dragon that frequents the area from time to time. He and I have an agreement.

Canoe wrote:A daylight colour temperature light should help, as of course having the light bright enough.Watch out for cheaper lights having a lower Colour Index (CI). You should have a CI of at least 85. A CI of 92 or up is a nice to have.

Ikea in Europe has announced they're going to be carrying affordable (<$14) dimmable LED bulbs with a CI of 86 from Lemnis. Their colour temperature (2700K) is below that of daylight (5000K), much like traditional household tungsten lighting. With their CI, they'll be a much better light source than most household compact fluorescent bulbs. Hard to believe they'll be dimmable for that price.

The Pharox lamp ikea is planning to sell is only 400 lumens.Still just a novelty.LEDs are useful for special purposes like freezers or use with optics.

I can't tolerate anything under 5000 myself.

A caution about the CRI.it can be gamed or just misleading, like a speaker with wide but spikey frequency response will look good on paper, but sound bad next to a smoother responding speaker.LEDs are particularly bad about this, as are metal halide.Some of the high dollar "high cri" HIDs are considered more unpleasant than the off the rack versions by many.

Also, 5000 is considered the arbitrary ideal K and more accurate higher K lamps are rated down for this alone.This is the case with the colortone 7500 I use, which I consider more accurate than their 5000 version, but the CRI rating is higher on the 5000.

Many people consider most K ratings to be questionable from some manufacturers.You have to decide for yourself.

I use ultra high gloss white epoxy ester paint on walls and ceilings and bounce my lighting off the ceiling.(This paint is good for acoustics also.)Doing this probably evens out any spikes in the color spectrum to a degree. The big difference I see with the colortone bulbs is red response.It's very subtle until I look at anything in red.

I am having a real problem adapting to claustrophobic suburban ceilings after living with ten and twelve foot high ceilings.With the higher ceilings I can use a single fixture for a large room and get even lighting.Bouncing light solves many problems that expensive fixtures are used to cure.Takes very little light to see also.

A trivia note, lumens ratings are weighted to the amber spectrum for fallacious reasons and this throws off ratings for low K lamps, and especially sodium lighting.Trust your own opinion in these comparisons,The methodology is flawed.

Canoe wrote:From before 9:30 through to past 4:00, I'm stuck in front of two rows of three 28" LCD screens from around one and a half to two arms length away. I have a 7th on the side that's a TV: a USB flash stick plugged into it cycles through nature images. When not working on the main computer, its six screens are one desktop and a screen saver cycles through my nature images. Big difference.Don't know if video would be too distracting while working.

Sounds like a hell of a nice setup.

Videos have been done with a fixed camera of nature scenes or underwater scenes, like the clear mediterranean.I saw a cafe that made their own.The slight changes look different from a frozen screen even when looped.

Some artists and architects have done walls made of screens that could display whatever was wanted.More practical than a glass house for most people.(I know someone that lived in one of the Wright houses.)

Huh... I haven't heard of that one. I should check it out. Seems like some decent stuff.

junglesmacks wrote:Take ONE of these (Melatonin) and call me 10 hours later. The 10mg caps are no joke. I've tried everything and this is the only thing that knocks my ADHD 23618361287 mph brain out at night.

Actually, I just take the above to have better sleep, not so much to go to sleep (I just stay up until tired on weird cycles). It would suck when I'd wake up at night and not be able to fall back asleep again. It wasn't insomnia, so much as I'd just take more time falling back asleep and it'd be light sleep. The above helps me get better sleep as in more dreams and deeper sleep.

"The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law." -- Christopher Hitchens

On the playa this year was a guy at our camp who had a chair and some "Brain Wave" goggles that would blink at Delta/Theta/whatever wavelengths along with some bass vibrations on the chair. It was pretty neat, and you really could get into a sort of dream-state while having those flashing LEDs affect your eyes along with some tunes in that frequency range. I've been trying to rig some up myself to see how they'd go, but I bet you could just use something like a screen visualizer for that kind of stuff in lieu of goggles.

One relaxing screen pattern visual I enjoy is Milkdrop for Winamp or Foobar2000. Very pretty stuff, and you can hit scrollock to lock onto specific patterns and just watch them. They're pretty mesmerizing if you just sit back and enjoy them with your music.

"The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law." -- Christopher Hitchens

BBadger wrote:Actually, I just take the above to have better sleep, not so much to go to sleep (I just stay up until tired on weird cycles). It would suck when I'd wake up at night and not be able to fall back asleep again. It wasn't insomnia, so much as I'd just take more time falling back asleep and it'd be light sleep. The above helps me get better sleep as in more dreams and deeper sleep.

That's totally my problem too, actually. I can get to sleep but wake up at 2-3am and can't go back to sleep until 6-7am. It sucks. I hate sitting in one place anyway, so laying in bed in the dark awake is pure torture. Even on 2 Advil or Tylenol PMs I would still wake up in the middle of the night and then just feel groggy and crappy in the morning. The melatonin is the only thing that works, and thankfully its 100% natural.

junglesmacks wrote:That's totally my problem too, actually. I can get to sleep but wake up at 2-3am and can't go back to sleep until 6-7am. It sucks. I hate sitting in one place anyway, so laying in bed in the dark awake is pure torture. Even on 2 Advil or Tylenol PMs I would still wake up in the middle of the night and then just feel groggy and crappy in the morning. The melatonin is the only thing that works, and thankfully its 100% natural.

Yeah, and it's easy to just think about other things that'll keep you up in dark. I end up having to tell myself that I can't do jack shit about such things while laying in bed, so forget thinking about them. That melatonin sure does beats those artificial sleep aids that people sleepwalk with causing them to eat weird things, drive, have sex with strangers and other weird things that they don't remember. I like the idea of my body just telling itself: YOU'RE TIRED MAN, BED TIME!

"The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law." -- Christopher Hitchens

Yeppers.....This will be my 7th burn and I already know I cannot attend next year....Too much to get anxious about, so I just go into Chill Mode. Cover the basics and let the rest fall into place. Sure I have a few fun clothing items I want to make, and my shade structure is going to be fucking janky at best. I dont have any cool lights, just ugly ones, but they work!! Best of all, I have been working out, so I am SO much stronger this year. That is all I really need besides the basics. No hurty back!

My buddy who went to the Burn in 07 for 4 days is taking his handicapped father this year. They are totally set up in Disabled camp in Center Camp. I mean, the dude is going to have lunch with the Borg n shit. His dads in a wheelchair and is in his mid 70s, he is an English writer and art scholar. My buddy is so stressed out, but about silly things. He "should" know the drill....Just sweat the neccessities! He's worried about COOL SHOES, are they gonig to look right with his costumes? Im like Dude your shoes are going to beBEIGE within a day, doesnt matter, only comfort! And then he is stressed about GIFTING. Im like DOOOOD you don't need gifts, maybe some Ricolas in ziplocs or lighters or little bottles of booze to spark a convo. He said, I need 100 things so I need to find something that costs a buck. NOOOOO you dont need that! I'll make you some man stickers if you MUST have some gifts, and hes like THANK YOU for helping, stickers are awesome!! No prob bro......but really, should you worry about that??????? Not worth the stress....Dont worry buddy you'll bee a good burner!!! Your taking your handicapped DAD for goodness sake, give it a break and have some fucking fun!!! easier said than done, but worth a shot

Xanax... Seriously... got a prescription just in case because I sometimes get panic attack when really stressed out, after I wrecked the jeep I was glad I had it, After I realized I wont be getting all my costume stuff I was wanting done... well I was glad I had friends and hugs... but I will be glad I have it on the way because otherwise I am pretty sure my heart will explode.

I'm glad I'm not the only one! I have it sooo bad this year! My husband and I are gifting our semi truck/time to haul art installations to the playa and Im worried sick that something is going to happen to make us late! It's not quite as stressful when you don't have people/projects depending on you, but I know it will be worth the stress. In the meantime,

LED pants, LED shirt, LED jacket for the girl, LED jacket for [anonymous friend], new bite valve for the Camelbak, wait where's the camp stove, oh shit time for another one, where's the EA pass? Wait a second where's my STEP confirmation email? Do we still have tickets? Will this number work? Why isn't partiserv emailing us back? What about shoes? SHOES! Shit I haven't worn shoes in over a year and these things are falling apart. Will it be too hot at night to wear the LED suit? Will it be too cold during the day to wear my new silver sequined speedo? What if my business crashes and burns while I'm out of contact? Where will I live? What will I do? Has anyone seen my GODDAMN KEYS?

junglesmacks wrote:So little to do and so much time! Wait.. scratch that.. reverse it.

LED pants, LED shirt, LED jacket for the girl, LED jacket for [anonymous friend], new bite valve for the Camelbak, wait where's the camp stove, oh shit time for another one, where's the EA pass? Wait a second where's my STEP confirmation email? Do we still have tickets? Will this number work? Why isn't partiserv emailing us back? What about shoes? SHOES! Shit I haven't worn shoes in over a year and these things are falling apart. Will it be too hot at night to wear the LED suit? Will it be too cold during the day to wear my new silver sequined speedo? What if my business crashes and burns while I'm out of contact? Where will I live? What will I do? Has anyone seen my GODDAMN KEYS?

..and that's just before 8AM this morning.

Next year, instead of Gnome Dome, we'll be the Anxiety Annex. We'll just say "Fuck it all" and show up with half a dome, half covered, a few cheap blinkies, and an ass load of xanie bars.

Why don't ya stick your head in that hole and find out? ~pieholePlan for the worst, expect the best. Make the most out of it under any conditions. If you cannot do that you will never enjoy yourself. ~CrispyDave

junglesmacks wrote:So little to do and so much time! Wait.. scratch that.. reverse it.

LED pants, LED shirt, LED jacket for the girl, LED jacket for [anonymous friend], new bite valve for the Camelbak, wait where's the camp stove, oh shit time for another one, where's the EA pass? Wait a second where's my STEP confirmation email? Do we still have tickets? Will this number work? Why isn't partiserv emailing us back? What about shoes? SHOES! Shit I haven't worn shoes in over a year and these things are falling apart. Will it be too hot at night to wear the LED suit? Will it be too cold during the day to wear my new silver sequined speedo? What if my business crashes and burns while I'm out of contact? Where will I live? What will I do? Has anyone seen my GODDAMN KEYS?

..and that's just before 8AM this morning.

Next year, instead of Gnome Dome, we'll be the Anxiety Annex. We'll just say "Fuck it all" and show up with half a dome, half covered, a few cheap blinkies, and an ass load of xanie bars.

And it'll be the shit!

Is your dome strong enough to permit a modestly-sized dork hanging upside down by her knees?

No reason.

*** 2016 Survival Guide ***"I must've lost it when I was twerking at the trash fence." -- BBadger

junglesmacks wrote:So little to do and so much time! Wait.. scratch that.. reverse it.

LED pants, LED shirt, LED jacket for the girl, LED jacket for [anonymous friend], new bite valve for the Camelbak, wait where's the camp stove, oh shit time for another one, where's the EA pass? Wait a second where's my STEP confirmation email? Do we still have tickets? Will this number work? Why isn't partiserv emailing us back? What about shoes? SHOES! Shit I haven't worn shoes in over a year and these things are falling apart. Will it be too hot at night to wear the LED suit? Will it be too cold during the day to wear my new silver sequined speedo? What if my business crashes and burns while I'm out of contact? Where will I live? What will I do? Has anyone seen my GODDAMN KEYS?

..and that's just before 8AM this morning.

Next year, instead of Gnome Dome, we'll be the Anxiety Annex. We'll just say "Fuck it all" and show up with half a dome, half covered, a few cheap blinkies, and an ass load of xanie bars.

And it'll be the shit!

Is your dome strong enough to permit a modestly-sized dork hanging upside down by her knees?

junglesmacks wrote:So little to do and so much time! Wait.. scratch that.. reverse it.

LED pants, LED shirt, LED jacket for the girl, LED jacket for [anonymous friend], new bite valve for the Camelbak, wait where's the camp stove, oh shit time for another one, where's the EA pass? Wait a second where's my STEP confirmation email? Do we still have tickets? Will this number work? Why isn't partiserv emailing us back? What about shoes? SHOES! Shit I haven't worn shoes in over a year and these things are falling apart. Will it be too hot at night to wear the LED suit? Will it be too cold during the day to wear my new silver sequined speedo? What if my business crashes and burns while I'm out of contact? Where will I live? What will I do? Has anyone seen my GODDAMN KEYS?

..and that's just before 8AM this morning.

Next year, instead of Gnome Dome, we'll be the Anxiety Annex. We'll just say "Fuck it all" and show up with half a dome, half covered, a few cheap blinkies, and an ass load of xanie bars.

And it'll be the shit!

Is your dome strong enough to permit a modestly-sized dork hanging upside down by her knees?

junglesmacks wrote:So little to do and so much time! Wait.. scratch that.. reverse it.

LED pants, LED shirt, LED jacket for the girl, LED jacket for [anonymous friend], new bite valve for the Camelbak, wait where's the camp stove, oh shit time for another one, where's the EA pass? Wait a second where's my STEP confirmation email? Do we still have tickets? Will this number work? Why isn't partiserv emailing us back? What about shoes? SHOES! Shit I haven't worn shoes in over a year and these things are falling apart. Will it be too hot at night to wear the LED suit? Will it be too cold during the day to wear my new silver sequined speedo? What if my business crashes and burns while I'm out of contact? Where will I live? What will I do? Has anyone seen my GODDAMN KEYS?

..and that's just before 8AM this morning.

Next year, instead of Gnome Dome, we'll be the Anxiety Annex. We'll just say "Fuck it all" and show up with half a dome, half covered, a few cheap blinkies, and an ass load of xanie bars.

And it'll be the shit!

Is your dome strong enough to permit a modestly-sized dork hanging upside down by her knees?

No reason.

Possibly. As long as its from one of the vertexes. We could give it a shot, and if it looks like the dome is about to fail, you can fall and someone we'll catch you!

Why don't ya stick your head in that hole and find out? ~pieholePlan for the worst, expect the best. Make the most out of it under any conditions. If you cannot do that you will never enjoy yourself. ~CrispyDave